Fishermen’s cup

Teignmouth U16s 14

Tavistock U16s 40

A SOLID start saw both teams perform well but Tavistock had the wind behind them in the first half and broke down the wing with a try in the corner from the full back James Paxman.

Further pressure from the Tavistock forwards saw number eight and Tavistock captain Ollie Noy Scott score to move them to 10-0. Teignmouth kept going and were rewarded with a break, down the wing, and try under the post immediately closing the gap.

Tavistock managed to keep possession of the ball with excellent scrummaging and with the hooker, Jason Blake, winning the ball against the head on a number of occasions. This led to James scoring his second try and a blistering move from the forwards, with continued pressure from Joe Burbage, Toby Teague and John Lord, to allow Archie Allen to score in the corner giving Tavistock a lead at half time of 20-7.

Tavistock were now playing into the wind and Teignmouth quickly picked up a loose ball from some scrappy Tavistock play to pile pressure right back on, as a converted try took the score to 20-14.  This seemed to spur the Tavistock team on with Lawrence Stewart and Zac Gorton putting in some excellent tackles and skipper Ollie again turning forwards pressure into a try.

Scrum half Tom Pearson left Teignmouth standing when he spotted the gap ten yards out to get the sixth try for Tavistock.  It was Jason Blake who finally stopped any chance of a comeback from Teignmouth with the seventh try, after performing a number of excellent dummy passes, to score in the corner. Jack Smyly turned the final screw with the final score after showing great handling skills and making a number of excellent split second decisions during the game to either carry or kick.

This result will leave Tavistock second in their group awaiting to see if they have made it through as one of the top eight teams in Devon. As ever, and to their credit,  the Tavistock team showed immense spirit and worked for each other to the very end.

Okehampton U15s 19

Ivybridge U15s 57

AFTER a great start to the season, the young Okes put in a lack lustre performance against a well drilled and determined Ivybridge team.  The first 15 minutes saw Ivybridge score five well taken tries, aided by some missed tackles and wayward kicks from Okehampton. 

The final ten minute spell in the half saw Okehampton wake up and quick ball through the hands put Olly Northcott across the line to open the scoring for the young Okes.  This was quickly followed by Dan Tomkins running the length of the pitch after picking up an intercepted pass, to score. 

Just on half time Okehampton fed the ball across the backs to Will Cunningham who again ran almost the length of the pitch to score and bringing the home side back into the game. 

Ivybridge came out firing again in the second half, scoring four tries, despite some solid tackling from Jack Rutley, Sonny Luxton, Jordan Hill and Dan Tomkins. 

The young Okes will be disappointed with their performance this week, but all credit to Ivybridge who played an excellent game and some lovely rugby. 

Conversions:  Will Cunningham (2).  The club thank Jeffery and Pengelly who have kindly sponsored a new set of shirts for the squad this season.

n This week Okehampton play Barnstaple. 

Exeter Chiefs U13s 10

Tavistock U13s 20

UNDER the new rules teams can field 13 players on what is virtually a full pitch.  Travelling with just 15 players, this was to be a tough day for Tavistock against a highly committed Chiefs team. 

Tavistock made a bright start, moving the ball quickly away from contact and attacking with pace out wide. This open style of rugby nearly paid off early for the visitors but some determined last ditch defending by Chiefs denied a couple of clear scoring opportunities.  As the first half wore on the hosts committed more players to the breakdown and started to both retain their own ball and force a number of turnovers.  Tavistock upped their game and were rewarded with two good team tries to deservedly lead 10-0 at half time. 

The second half was more of the same, but by now Tavistock had suffered a couple of injuries and were down to the bare 13.  All credit to the team, they dug in and continued to play good rugby. 

The handling in the backs coupled with some of the running and line breaks by the forwards showed great promise.  Tavistock added a third try to lead 15-0 but then appeared to take the win for granted.  As a result Chiefs capitalised on some poor tackling to score two good individual tries and pull themselves right back into the game.  Tavistock responded well, they regained their defensive shape and began to build phases, retaining possession and putting the hosts under pressure, to add a fourth and final well deserved team try. Liam Watts, Joe Wheeldon, Alex Richardson and Jack Lane were the Tavistock scorers. 

n This week Tavistock play Bideford.